On May 4 in Miami, HederaCon will bring together leaders from global finance, policy, enterprise, technology, and digital assets at a moment when the conversation has shifted. What was once theoretical is now real. Trust is becoming foundational.
This year’s agenda will reflect that transition. Across two stages, the Main Stage and The Trust Layer Stage, the focus will be on how that trust is being implemented in practice, across networks, governance systems, and real-world applications that are shaping markets, systems, and institutions before our very eyes.
So What Is “Invisible Ubiquity?”
At Davos earlier this year, Hedera co-founder Mance Harmon spoke to CNBC, introducing his vision for Hedera as “invisible ubiquity,” or in other words, how DLT is moving into the background of everyday systems, becoming always on, reliable, and largely unseen.
Building on this vision, Mance will take the stage with Hashgraph CEO Eric Piscini to share the Hedera leadership’s perspective on why this is important and what comes next.
This idea carries into a founder conversation with Dr. Leemon Baird, revisiting the foundational concept of shared worlds and how that vision is evolving into a network of networks. The focus is not just shared data, but shared truth at scale.
Finance Is Being Rewired
A defining thread across the Main Stage is the re-architecture of global finance. Not through disruption alone, but through integration.
In sessions such as “The New Global Rails: Rewiring Payments, Settlement, and Trust”, leaders from Citi, Euroclear, DTCC, and Moody’s will examine how stablecoins and tokenized cash are reshaping core financial rails.
“Cross-border Payments, Without the Pain” brings together voices from Hashgraph, EMTECH, and Dropp to focus on the operational realities of payments. The discussion moves beyond speed to address reconciliation, liquidity, and risk in a 24/7 environment.
Tokenization might’ve been the buzzword of 2025, but it has staying power due to how it is transforming financial markets. This theme will take center stage in “Trust on Chain: The Tokenization Era Takes Hold”, with speakers from Archax, Aberdeen, ERC-3643 Foundation and Red Swan exploring how programmable assets are taking hold across real estate, funds, and foreign exchange.
The evolution of financial products is also in focus at HederaCon. In “The ETF Effect: What Comes After the First Wave?”, leaders from 21Shares, Canary Capital, YieldFX and ClearStreet examine how digital assets are being integrated into institutional portfolios and what comes next.
Running through all of these conversations is a clear insight. Connectivity is becoming the architecture of finance. This will be explored in “The Connective Tissue of Digital Finance”, featuring Chainlink, Fireblocks, and Kaiko, where interoperability is framed not as a feature, but as the system itself.
Policy Shapes the Outcome
Digital asset policy is increasingly the deciding factor, both in the U.S. and abroad.
Sessions such as “Policy at a Pivot: Rules for a Tokenized Economy” and “Digital Assets as Financial Infrastructure: The Policy Debate” bring together leaders from the White House, Blockchain Association, Digital Chamber, Institute of International Finance, and Crypto Council for Innovation.
Speakers including, Summer Mersinger, Cody Carbone, Jessica Renier, and Ji Hun Kim will explore how frameworks like the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts could shape the future of digital finance.
In the closing Fireside Chat “Policy Meets Innovation: Clarity over Chaos”, Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the White House Crypto Council will discuss the latest with the CLARITY Act, covering its impact on regulation, institutional adoption, and the future of digital assets in the U.S. Moderated by former White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields, this is a not-to-miss session.
Trust is Non-Negotiable
On The Trust Layer Stage, the focus shifts from markets to the systems that support them.
Governance is unpacked in “Institutional Governance at Scale: Inside Look at Hedera Council”, offering a practical view into how global institutions come together to operate and govern a public network.
Security is treated as foundational in “Securing, not Assuming Trust”, with experts from Halborn, DFNS, and CryptoISAC discussing how systems must evolve to support more users, more automation, and more interconnected risk.
In “Open by Design: Hiero and the Future of Trust”, leaders from the Linux Foundation, HashPack, and Hashgraph examine why open source and shared governance are becoming essential for enterprise adoption.
At the same time, new economic models are emerging. In “How Blockchain Enables Agentic Payments”, speakers from Vodafone, Swarm and Innovative Edge LLC explore how machine-to-machine transactions and AI-driven systems introduce new requirements for identity, coordination, and settlement.
From Pilots to Production
Across both stages, the industry is moving from pilots to production.
In “Enterprise Blockchain: Ready to Move Up the Stack?”, voices from FedEx, Deloitte, GBBC, and Kraken examine how networks are moving from solely infrastructure into a practical business tool, discussing what it takes to scale real-world adoption.
Real-world utility is also front and center. “Proven Finance to Sustainable Impact” highlights how tokenized carbon markets and verifiable ESG data are being applied in practice, while “In App to On Chain” explores how brands like Mondelez, Xeni, and SKUx are rethinking customer engagement via DLT.
Even decentralized finance is maturing. In “DeFi Grows Up: From Protocols to Markets”, the focus shifts to how decentralized systems can meet institutional standards around risk, compliance, and usability.
A Hybrid Future
The future of networks is about optionality. In DLT terms, that means it is hybrid.
This is explored in “The Future is Hybrid: The Private and Public Network Effect”, where enterprise leaders discuss how private networks such as HashSphere can serve as a gateway to public network interoperability.
At the same time, “Are We Really Ready for Interoperability?” examines where multi-network coordination works today and where it still falls short under real-world constraints.
A Moment of Convergence
HederaCon reflects a broader convergence across technology, finance, and policy.
Financial rails are being rebuilt. Regulation is shaping how it evolves. Enterprises are integrating rather than experimenting. Trust is becoming an essential layer within digital systems.
What emerges is a new foundation for the digital economy. Trust is embedded, systems are connected, and the technology fades into the background.
Don’t miss out on HederaCon 2026. Register for free today and see the full agenda and speaker lineup at https://hederacon.hedera.com/agenda
